Consumers who are forced to have prepayment energy meters put in should face a maximum installation fee of £150, the regulator has proposed.

Currently such energy users - already the most vulnerable to debt - face a charge of up to £900, said Ofgem. As many as 4.5 million people use prepayment meters for electricity, while 3.5 million use them for gas. Consumers who pay in advance also face higher energy bills, although from April 2017 these prices will be capped. The proposal was welcomed by the charity Citizens Advice.

Charges

At the moment, energy suppliers must try to come to an agreement with consumers who fall into debt. If that cannot be achieved, they can apply to a magistrates court for a warrant to install a prepayment meter. If given permission to do so, they are allowed to charge for the cost of putting it in. Such charges are typically £400, but can be as high as £900 when court costs are included.....Read more here

Previous AAD Blog pages:

3rd Jul 2015 Pre-pay meter energy users pay £226 a year more: Citizens Advice AAD BLOG LINK

25th June 2015 - Call to cut pre-payment meter charges by Ofgem AAD BLOG LINK